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¶ … eye witness testimony and the use of lineups have long been considered reliable mainstays of prosecutorial evidence, misidentification has been the "greatest contributing factor to wrongful convictions," according to the Innocence Project. As many as one in every four eyewitness identifications prove to be incorrect (California Innocence Project, 2015). The Innocence Project therefore works in part to train law enforcement departments to develop eyewitness interrogation procedures that eliminate bias and prevent misidentification of suspects.
The case of Ronald Cotton highlighted some of the specific problems with witness identification through the use of police lineups. Inadvertent use of pressure and subtle verbal or nonverbal cues may cause eyewitnesses to misidentify a suspect, especially when the law enforcement officers administering the lineup knows who their suspect was in the case. The victim of the crime might be misled by officer support for their decisions. Stress, trauma, and general anxiety may also be problems impacting the decision making process during eyewitness identification. As the Innocence Project video points out, memory is highly malleable, and eyewitnesses can end up firmly believing that the suspect was the culprit. Moreover, the level of certainty can increase over time.
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A double-blind procedure is used in order to prevent problems like officer feedback or communication. The unconscious provision of information about a suspect cannot be achieved in a double-blind scenario. Rather than providing unconscious or conscious feedback during the identification process, the witness chooses or refrains from choosing on his or her own volition. The double-blind method is substantiated by research in psychology and cognitive science. It is not surprising that he double-blind system works; but it is surprising that it has taken so long for a scientific methodology to be employed by police departments.
The Innocence Project video raises key concerns related to wrongful convictions. I was surprised to learn that as many as 70% of wrongful convictions occur as a result of incorrect eyewitness identification. Clearly, law enforcement is allowed to rely heavily on eyewitness testimony, even though the testimony has been proven fallible again and again. Former suspects like Ronald Cotton had to go through years of trauma in prison for crimes they did not commit. A few, like Cotton, are exonerated with DNA evidence but many are not as lucky. The Innocence Project video helps reduce…
References
California Innocence Project (2015). Eyewitness identification. Retrieved online: http://californiainnocenceproject.org/issues-we-face/eyewitness-identification/
Innocence Project (n.d.). Eyewitness misidentification. Retrieved online: http://www.innocenceproject.org/causes-wrongful-conviction/eyewitness-misidentification
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